Europe's vertical villages
by Madeleine Zhang 
| No museum piece, this is a fully functioning 50-year-old housing project, designed by the godfather of modern architecture.
Photo courtesy of Leigh Fergus |
Unlike their U.S. counterparts, most city dwellers on the continent are confined to living in cramped quarters. A studio in Paris, for example, can be as small as 55 square feet. Only a lucky minority get to live in an elegant, converted hôtel particulier, for example, or the cité radieuse in Marseille, a tower block that has been listed as a historic monument. 50-year-old fittings still working
Designed by Le Corbusier more than 50 years ago to re-house those left homeless after the war, the cité radieuse is still functioning and full of contented resident-owners-some of the first tenants still live here today in the homes they subsequently bought. The 337-apartment building was designed to feel more like a vertical village than a modern concrete block, with its integrated services enriching social life in the building, transcending the usual functions of housing. The legendary Le Corbusier took this project to heart, choosing quality fittings and new materials for these homes. It couldn't be done today and remain affordable-the original electric stoves, hood vents, and trash chutes are still in place and working well. How often can you say that of buildings constructed even 20 years ago? To allow for a homelier feel, each apartment is a duplex with a magnificent bay window and a balcony for outdoor living. Inside the housing block are shops, offices, a mini-supermarket, a café, a crèche, a sports club, and even a hotel. The corridors-or "interior roads"-are spacious and light, and the roof area has seating, a water feature and paddling pool, gymnasium, and open-air theater, all operational and reserved for the residents and hotel guests. To see other radiant sites
Along with the Marseille building, a further four of these housing projects were completed in post-war Europe-not identical, but combining the same formula of elegance with a human dimension, in a sunny setting, with integrated businesses and public facilities. You can visit these other cités radieuses or unités d'habitation in Berlin, Germany, and elsewhere in France: in Rezé, just outside Nantes; Briey-en-Forêt in the northeast of the country; and Firminy-Vert, near St Etienne. |
Experience Le Corbusier's vision first-hand
The general ambiance is one of calm harmony, and you can understand Le Corbusier's vision of a perfect, spacious place in a green, sunny environment for families to live in, combined with architectural grandeur and elegance. Understandably, the residents enjoy their detachment from the downtown buzz, so the duplexes rarely come on the market. But you can experience Le Corbusier's vision by staying at the hotel. The smallest rooms (an aesthetic take on monastic cells) of 17 square meters (182 square feet) are only 59 euros ($77) per night, while spacious doubles go for 95 euros ($124). Hôtel & Restaurant Le Corbusier, La cité radieuse, 280 boulevard Michelet,
13008 Marseille; tel. (+33) (0)4-9116-7800 ; website : www.hotellecorbusier.com Who was Le Corbusier?
French-Swiss Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (1887-1965), otherwise known as Le Corbusier, is remembered for his modern architecture and furniture designs. More information can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Corbusier |
